Matt Hall Wins CB 300 & $5,000 1st Prize

COPPER BASIN 300 SLED DOG RACE 
Winner is Matt Hall  

Click The Picture Below 
& See A 4-Page Flipbook About The Race:

The race start was changed to Gakona Lodge and it went off well. It was a very fast race with the winner Matt Hall crossing the finish on Monday morning. Ryne Olson was second followed by last year's winner Allen Moore in third and the famous Iditarod Musher Aliy Zirkle in fourth and Girdwood musher Nicholas Petit in fifth.  Go to CB300.com for more details.

Photos From 2015 Christmas Chamber Dinner

Large Crowd Attends Christmas Dinner At Old Town Copper Center As Locals Meet & Greet State Legislators 

The last Chamber meeting of the year featured three of the region's legislators: Senator Click Bishop, Senator Mike Dunleavy and Representative Jim Colver.

This was the first Chamber meeting run by incoming Chamber President Bruce Cain.  (Photos, Richard Dennis)

SCAM ALERT: Watch For Fraudulent Attacks Against Local Businesses

SPEAR PHISHING ATTACKS CATCH Alaska BUSINESSES UNAWARE - BBB Educates Consumers about Cyber Security Threats

Anchorage, Alaska – December 1, 2015 – Better Business Bureau serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington has been alerted to recent cyber threats against local Alaska businesses. Many of these attacks are considered “spear phishing” – email scams where organized criminals research and target specific businesses. According to the FBI, total losses are estimated to be almost $800 million from October 2013 through August 2015. A local cyber security firm estimates that 37,000 businesses countrywide could be victims of these spear phishing attacks.

Scammers target businesses by sending spoofed emails, appearing to originate from company CEO’s, requesting information such as access codes and passwords or giving approval to pay attached invoices. According to a local cyber security expert, “the more advanced attackers are buying domains with similar names to existing companies to trick people into believing they are emailing legitimate employees.” These domain names often look exactly like that of a legitimate company, but with an extra letter or period that might not be obvious at a cursory glance.

The fraudulent emails ask the Chief Financial Officer or Controller to wire money for payment to a vendor. Attached to the email is an invoice with payment terms, wire transfer instructions and directions to notify the “CEO” when the transfer is complete. Once the funds are received, the scammers empty the account.

These types of scams have cost businesses significant amounts of money – sometimes in the millions. To help prevent these scammers from succeeding, BBB recommends:

• Proper controls. Ensure there are proper controls on financial transactions and accounts payables. Consider two party procedures for larger payments.

• Education. Develop security policies and protocols. Make sure all employees are trained to recognize possible phishing scams and to be vigilant when clicking on links or attachments to emails.

• Brand protection. Purchase domains with similar names to protect company branding.

• Beware of what you share. Scammers research social media sites to find information that they will use to gain access to protected data. They may also attempt to obtain company information by calling to conduct a survey or impersonating a company vendor.

Better Business Bureau has recently entered into a collaborative relationship with the National Cyber Security Alliance to educate consumers and businesses about potential cyber threats and managing online security. For more information and resources to protect your business and personal online security, visit www.bbb.org/cybersecrity.

Help us investigate and warn others about fraud by reporting what you know at BBB’s Scam Tracker.

ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. BBB serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington, founded in 1918 and serving more than 9 million consumers, is one of 113 local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 2014, people turned to BBB serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington more than 5 million times for BBB Business Reviews on more than 264,000 local businesses and for Charity Reports on more than 1,200 local charities, all available for free at akorww.bbb.org.